Campfire Under the Willows
by Redler Red7
Summary: On the night of the full moon, Sekibanki and Wakasagihime visit Kagerou in the forest. They roast some food on sticks and reminisce about their time together. [No real plot, mostly just characters talking]


**Waka, Banki, and Kagerou are wholly underappreciated early-game characters from my favorite Touhou game. I figured I might as well write something for them. Enjoy if you can.**

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…

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Wakasagihime laid on her back, floating on the surface of the water as she stared up at the clouds and the stars and the full moon lighting the night. In the distance, she could hear shrieks and yells, youkai of all walks of life sent into a frenzy by the full moon. It was particularly vicious tonight for some reason. Normally the yokai had more control over themselves.

A shadow passed over her for an instant, followed by the sound of two boots hitting the water behind her. They did not break its surface. Wakasagihime craned her neck to see who had arrived, noting the black dress and red cloak the person was wearing. This person dropped to a squat and looked down at Wakasagihime, her high collar hiding her mouth but her eyes betraying a smile.

"Princess," she said in greeting, saluting lazily.

"Sekibanki. Good evening," Wakasagihime greeted back, rolling in the water so that she faced the rokurokubi. "What brings you to Mist Lake?"

Sekibanki stared for a moment before looking up at the sky. "It's the full moon. I figured you'd be lonely without Wolfy here."

"Oh?" Wakasagihime tilted her head curiously, glancing towards the forest at the edge of the lake, faint flashes of danmaku being thrown around past the treeline. "It's only two or so nights in a month. I get to see Kagerou plenty of other times."

Sekibanki looked back down, though not meeting Wakasagihime's eyes. "Well, tonight it's a bit different. The yokai haven't been this restless since the Miracle Mallet incident."

"Hmm. You're right about that…"

Wakasagihime paused, simply watching the water's surface ripple whenever she paddled her tail around. The folds of her green kimono followed the subtle waves. She eventually broke the silence with a question. "How is Kagerou right now?"

"Uncontrollably aggressive," Sekibanki said flatly. "And scared. She's trying to keep away so she doesn't hurt anyone."

Wakasagihime pursed her lips. "I hope she doesn't get exterminated."

"I heard around the village that one Marisa Kirisame went looking for some trouble in the forest Kagerou was hiding in. It doesn't bode well. Then again, even if they do end up fighting, I doubt Kirisame would actually kill her. Doesn't seem like that witch's style."

Several distinctive howls pierced the night and an enormous beam of light and accompanying spray of colored stars erupted out of the forest.

Wakasagihime worriedly looked to Sekibanki. "That was Kagerou's howl."

"And that's obviously Kirisame's Master Spark." Sekibanki's face remained concealed but her eyes showed that she was worried too. "This is one of the moments I hate being right," she muttered tiredly. With a sense of anxious urgency, she stood and kicked off the water's surface. "I'm flying there. Follow the river into the forest."

As Sekibanki flew away, Wakasagihime dived and swam as fast as her fins could take her. When she reached the mouth of the river, she resurfaced and started patrolling up and down its winding current.

Minutes later, while rounding a bend, she noticed Sekibanki emerge from the tree line, carrying a large black wolf. Hands supported the upper torso. The rest of the wolf's body was supported by several of Sekibanki's floating heads.

"Don't worry, she's just unconscious," Sekibanki said reassuringly as she laid the wolf at the riverbank. "Danmaku hurts but doesn't injure, remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Wakasagihime snapped. "That won't make me stop worrying."

Wakasagihime then leaned further forward, feeling the earth underneath her tail fin as she dragged herself ashore. She put a hand on Kagerou's side and felt a rapid but steady heartbeat. She also found that Kagerou's wolf form was quite soft and fluffy.

"What happened?" she asked Sekibanki.

"Don't know exactly. Only caught the tail end of their fight." The rokurokubi dismissed all but three of her other heads, sending the trio that remained to pick up some firewood. "One thing's for sure, though. Kirisame was holding back. Wasn't even half as much collateral damage as I was expecting."

Wakasagihime winced. She thought back to the Miracle Mallet incident, remembering the blackened stone, the scorched earth, and the deep craters and trenches that Marisa Kirisame had left in her wake. The maid from the Scarlet Devil Mansion took out Wakasagihime relatively early into the incident so she never got to see Kirisame fight in person. Sekibanki, however… The rokurokubi had the misfortune of being Marisa's first opponent. She never stood a chance.

"You know," Sekibanki continued, "based on the guilty look she shot me with when I came to Kagerou's side, I get the distinct feeling that Kirisame's the reason all the forest yokai are so restless. She apologized to me, shoved what I assume are medicinal mushrooms into my hands, and told me to roast them over a fire and feed it to Kagerou. _'To help her get better,'_ she said."

Wakasagihime blinked. "Huh… That's surprisingly nice of her…"

"Despite the antics she gets into, she's actually one of the nicest humans in Gensokyo—from a yokai's perspective at least." Sekibanki took a seat next to Kagerou and joining Wakasagihime in petting the wolf's fur. "It's just that our first impressions of each other weren't very good. During that incident, her hakkero was starting to form a mind of its own and it was taking her over. And me? Well, I was spellbound to be bolder and more aggressive. Had we met under any other circumstances, I don't think we would have fought."

Wakasagihime nodded quietly. "The Miracle Mallet did none of us any favors," she muttered, shooting a meaningful look at Kagerou. She remembered the injuries wolf had gotten after the Scarlet Devil's maid cut her up with that bewitched knife of hers. Even when thrown as danmaku, its edges were still sharp enough to draw blood. "At least this isn't a repeat of back then."

Neither of the two spoke after that. They simply let the distant sound of howling and danmaku fill the silence.

Eventually, Sekibanki's trio of extra heads returned with a bundle of dry branches which they dropped next to them. Sekibanki dismissed said heads and gathered the branches into a small hut-like structure. She then took a flask of what smelled like rice wine from her belt, poured some of it onto the branches, and shot a tiny spark-danmaku from her fingertips. The branch quickly caught fire. They waited for the fire to burn in earnest.

"I've been meaning to ask, Banki. How did you meet Kagerou?"

Sekibanki took her eyes off the crackling fire and leaned back. "Hmm. Hard to say. I don't leave my usual haunts often and neither does she. I think might have met her before she was bit and got turned into a wolf, though that was a long time ago. Memories for yokai like me tend to get muddy after a while."

Sekibanki took a few of the thinner and straighter sticks and stabbed the mushrooms with them, then propping them up near the fire.

"From what I remember, she was just a little girl back then, probably spent most of the day playing with the other Human Village children. She stayed out for too long and strayed from the safer parts of the village outskirts. I scared her, like I normally do, and she sorta just started crying. Her fear was delicious but her crying voice was annoying. I couldn't really take it. So I tried to calm her down and told her to head back to the village and to never come near the canal at dusk if she didn't want to get scared by me again."

Wakasagihime giggled. "For such a scary yokai, you're really soft."

Sekibanki averted her eyes as she retreated behind her high collar. "Kids are pathetically easy to scare," she muttered defensively. "I like my prey to have more fight in them."

"Pssh. Excuses."

Sekibanki crossed her arms and turned a nose. "Whatever," she snapped, pointedly not looking at Wakasagihime.

"In any case, after that happened, I don't think I ever saw Kagerou again—at least not as a regular human."

"What about as a werewolf?"

Sekibanki hummed in thought, idly turning the mushrooms on the spits so they were roasted evenly.

"As far as I remember, it was around the time she got turned. She was running away from the village with a bag filled with her belongings and a cowl hiding the wolf ears that were sticking out of her head. I could smell her fear and the fact that she wasn't human anymore. She actually stopped and asked for directions."

"Pffft. Yeah, that sounds like her," Wakasagihime said, failing to suppress a laugh. "Where was she heading?"

Sekibanki shrugged. "She didn't know herself. She just wanted someplace safe for someone like her. I suggested Myouren Temple, Yokai Mountain, or Eintei. She picked Eintei and asked if I could accompany her. Couldn't turn her down."

Again, Wakasagihime laughed. "So soft!"

"Shut up! She was in distress and I could already see the pitchforks and torches in the distance!"

"Let me guess, you both got lost in the forest looking for Eintei." Wakasagihime waited for a reply. Sekibanki's fuming silence was telling. This incited another bout of laughter. "Oh gods, Banki! You're such a kind-hearted fool for someone so jaded and cynical."

Wakasagihime's hysterics were cut short when Kagerou growled, eyes opening slowly. The wolf began shaking in an attempt to stand.

"Easy there, big girl," Sekibanki said steadily, putting a hand on Kagerou's side. "Deep breaths." She then took one of the mushrooms on a stick and presented it to the wolf. "I'm gonna need you to eat this. Open your mouth." Kagerou complied, letting the rokurokubi drag the mushroom off the stick between the wolf's sharp teeth. "Now swallow." Kagerou once again complied.

And then she began thrashing violently.

Sekibanki swore and grabbed Kagerou's head, holding it tightly to prevent her from biting. Wakasagihime flopped further onto shore and grabbed Kagerou's legs to further limit how much the wolf could thrash.

A minute passed and Kagerou eventually lost energy, simply breathing heavily in the rokurokubi and mermaid's embrace. Her fur, fangs, and claws began to recede, her body slowly transforming back into that of a human's. Soon, Sekibanki and Wakasagihime had a tired looking woman in a bloodied white and red dress in their arms.

"Uhhhg," Kagerou groaned into Sekibanki's chest, a shudder running through her body. "What on earth _was _that?"

Sekibanki smiled wryly. "A magic mushroom that Marisa Kirisame told me to feed to you. She gave me the impression that it was some sort of medicine."

"It certainly _tasted_ like medicine," Kagerou said, trying to pull away from their inadvertent group hug. "And was definitely magic. My head is aching, my stomach is churning, and I feel simultaneously restless beyond all reason and tired enough to want to go back to sleep so soon after waking."

Sekibanki backed away, allowing Kagerou to sit. Wakasagihime did the same, retreating back to the water.

"Knowing Kirisame, it probably _is_ magic," Sekibanki agreed. "But, to be fair, you _were_ just defeated in a danmaku battle. Not to mention, you spent at least a minute straight shaking uncontrollably. Would make sense that you're tired."

"What even happened that got you so worked up that Kirisame picked a fight with you?" Wakasagihime asked, letting her tail fin splash in the river. "Even during a full moon, you're normally pretty docile."

Kagerou rubbed her temples, wincing. "I wish I could tell you. My head's a mess right now. Something about candy?"

"Don't hurt yourself trying to remember," Sekibanki said before turning to Wakasagihime. "Why don't you go catch some fish for us. I can tell Wolfy here's hungry from the way she's eyeing that tail of yours."

Kagerou shrunk back defensively averting her gaze. "Hey," she grumbled. "You know I wouldn't eat Princess."

Wakasagihime giggled. "No, but you've tried," she teased. Once she got the embarrassed reaction she wanted—Kagerou shaking her head all red-faced and flustered—the mermaid started swimming upstream. "I'll be back in a few. Keep her lucid while I'm gone."

With that, she dove and began hunting for some fish.

"What were you talking about while I was unconscious?" Kagerou asked once the mermaid returned. "I only caught the last parts of your conversation. Something about you being a fool?"

Wakasagihime once again broke into hysterics while Sekibanki winced. The rokurokubi sighed as she started spearing the fish and propping them up next to the crackling bonfire.

"I was talking about the first time we met."

Kagerou tilted her head. "You mean that time you scared me and then took pity when I started crying?"

"So that _was _you. I wasn't sure since it's been so long. Then again, it was hard not to remember. You already had wolf-like eyes and fangs, even back then."

Wakasagihime tilted her head curiously, shooting Kagerou with a quizzical look. "Really? Why was that?"

Kagerou thought for a bit, bundling her fluffy tail on her lap and stroking it rhythmically. "Hmm. I don't quite know. I've had them for as far as I can remember. In all likelihood, I was probably born with them since that would explain why my parents named me _'Shadow Wolf.'_"

"If you _weren't_ born with them then it'd be like they were _expecting_ you to turn into werewolf," Sekibanki noted with a dark chuckle. Kagerou made a growl of discomfort to which Sekibanki responded with a shrug. "Just a little food for thought."

Kagerou sighed and grabbed a raw fish from the pile. She sank her teeth into it and tore off a mouthful. She began chewing.

Sekibanki narrowed her eyes in disgust while Wakasagihime continued idly splashing her tail against the water, seemingly unperturbed. "You're eating it raw?" the rokurokubi asked incredulously.

Kagerou swallowed and grimaced, looking away. "I crave raw meat during the full moon," she explained.

"Won't you get stomach aches?"

"As long as I don't eat right before sunrise, I'll be fine. Remember, I'm more wolf than human right now."

Sekibanki turned to Wakasagihime, raising an eyebrow. "And why are _you_ fine with this?"

Wakasagihime shrugged. "I'm a mermaid. Our diet is fish and aquatic plants."

"And you _eat them_ _raw_?"

She shrugged once more. "Only if I'm feeling lazy," she replied. "I don't see why this is such a big deal to you, though. Most yokai can eat raw meat no problem. It's just that they usually don't because cooked food tastes better. Speaking of which, gimme."

With a childish pout, Wakasagihime leaned forward towards the fire, hands outstretched expectantly. Sekibanki took one of the sticks of roasted fish and handed it over, which the mermaid began munching on greedily. She then sighed and also started eating.

"But yeah. Told her about that time I scared you as a kid. Then I told you about that time the village drove you out."

Kagerou tore another bite out of the fish, scowling. She swallowed quickly and spoke. "You mean that time you got me lost heading to Eintei? You know, after we finally got there, they didn't let me stay."

Sekibanki frowned. "Wait, really? After spending hours wandering the forest, they just turned you away?"

Kagerou shook her head. "No. I wasn't sick and I wasn't friendly enough with any of the rabbits that they'd vouch for me. Got kicked out shortly before midnight."

The rokurokubi shook with what seemed to be frustration, her head slowly floating off her body before she reined in her emotions and pulled her head back down. "Gods, that's so shitty."

Kagerou shrugged. "All things considered, it wasn't so bad. Before I got kicked out, this one kind rabbit with purple hair gave me directions to someone in the forest who'd help me. Do any of you know of the woman named Mokou Fujiwara?"

Wakasagihime stared blankly. Sekibanki did the same.

"White hair? Red pants? Has immortal phoenix fire? No? Strange. I was under the impression she was rather famous. Ah, no matter. I followed that rabbit's directions to Fujiwara's house and had a little chat with her. Turns out, one of her friends is in a situation similar to mine. Keine Kamishirasawa, the village school teacher, turns into a hakutaku during the full moon. The two of them helped me build a house at the edge of the forest."

"Huh… That was nice of them," Wakasagihime muttered, having already eaten all of her fish. She leaned over to grab another stick.

"Really, Fujiwara was just bored and roped Kamishirasawa into helping."

"Still nice," the mermaid insisted as she resumed eating.

The three ate in silence for a time, the crackling fire illuminating their secluded patch of forest. The distant howling and flashes of danmaku had faded slightly, which might have meant Kirisame was getting a handle on the situation. The racket would likely be over by the time the moon peaked in the sky.

"You know, I've met Kamishirasawa before," Sekibanki said, tossing some cinders into the fire. "I could tell she wasn't all human but she smelled too human to be all youkai. I could also tell she knew I wasn't human either. Thankfully, she didn't out me as a yokai living in the village. She at least has the sense not to attack me when I'm not doing harm." She stared at the fire, a flickering light reflecting off of her eyes. "I'll get found out one of these days, though… And it'll be by someone not as tactful as Kamishirasawa."

"If and when that happens, you should move to Myouren Temple or up on Yokai Mountain," Wakasagihime said cheekily. "Just not Eintei. You'll just get lost and they'll kick you out." Sekibanki rolled her eyes and threw the remains of her fish at the mermaid. "Hey, stop that," Wakasagihime complained, brushing the stick and fishbones out of her hair.

"You can always come live with me," Kagerou suggested. "I know it's far from your usual haunting grounds but it's close to a different path that plenty of people pass through to get to Eintei."

Sekibanki nodded quietly. "Maybe. I don't know about scaring people with injuries, though."

"I'd also offer but I don't think you'd enjoy living in a big empty house at the bottom of a lake. It's the thought that counts, though, right?"

"Yes. Thank you very much," Sekibanki replied dryly. "Your thoughtfulness is _incredibly_ touching, Princess."

Wakasagihime pouted dramatically at the rokurokubi's sarcasm. "Jerk."

"Come to think of it, you never mentioned having a house before," Sekibanki muttered, shooting a curious look at the mermaid. "But you live underwater. How does that even work?"

Wakasagihime cupped her chin in thought. "Hmm… Well… it's a house. I don't really know what else to tell you. It has walls, a roof, and a bed I can sleep in."

"I always assumed you'd just fall asleep while floating in the water."

The mermaid rolled her eyes. "That's a great way to get your clothes chomped up by random fish. Kagerou could also just sleep in the woods but you don't see her doing that, do you?"

Sekibanki glanced away. "I never said anything like that," she muttered. "But I see your point."

"I sometimes do sleep in the forest, though." Kagerou looked up from the bloodied remains of her fish, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

Sekibanki quickly tore a scrap of her red cloak and offered it to Kagerou, saving the werewolf's dress from getting further bloodied. "Seriously?"

"Thanks," she replied, accepting the cloth. "But yes. Typically, wildlife seem to stay clear of me. The most that bother me are fairies that try to touch my ears and tail."

"To be fair to them, your fur is really soft," Wakasagihime said with a grin, tossing another empty stick into the fire and leaning over to grab her third roasted fish.

"I don't dislike it," Kagerou admitted with a small smile, idly grabbing her tail and petting it. "The problem occurs when many of them try to do it at the same time. They tend to be quite rowdy."

"Nothing quick blast of danmaku wouldn't fix," Sekibanki said with a shrug. "Doesn't even matter if they die. They just come back the next day to annoy you again."

The three shared a chuckle.

Conversation continued well into the night as they meandered from one random topic to another. The moon eventually reached its zenith and began it slow descent through the sky. In that time, Kagerou turned into a wolf once more and curled up close to the fire. Wakasagihime passed out some time after the fish were all eaten. She drowsily flopped even further onto shore to snuggle up to Kagerou. Sekibanki stayed awake until just before the pre-dawn light, when the night's darkness was at its darkest. She also found herself using Kagerou as a fluffy pillow. Kagerou herself couldn't sleep as whatever fervent energy that magic mushroom gave her had yet to expire. But she did manage to keep calm and still, allowing the two weights on her sides to steady her. Sleep eventually took her as the light of dawn began peeking through the treeline.

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**END**

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**My specialty is, and always has been, protracted and meandering conversations that usually lead to nothing.**

**So, some notes:**

**Thanks to 0alpha on AO3 for the second proofread pass.**

**I've always worked on the assumption that, during the events of DDC, Sakuya and Marisa encountered and defeated Waka and Banki respectively. This is due to the fact that, for Sakuya, the Scarlet Devil Manor is so close to Mist Lake that it only makes sense that she'd be the one to encounter Waka first and, for Marisa, I imagine the specific canal that she fights Banki in is probably around the outskirts of the Human Village which Marisa frequents. Sakuya taking down Kagerou is because whole vampires and werewolves thing seems too good to pass up. As for Reimu? **_***Shrugs***_

**There isn't a lot to go off when it comes to characterizing Waka, Banki, and Kagerou. There's their in-game dialogue which depicts the shallowest interpretations of their characters. There's their descriptions and appearances in other official media, of which there are only a few. Then there's what we can discern from their character designs, music, and spell cards. I was forced to make heavy use of that last one. Alternatively, I could always use fan-interpretations of them but I'm not that deep in the Touhou fanfiction and doujin fandom. I've only read a handful of works and most of them depict these characters in very similar ways to how I would depict them based on their character designs and back stories.**

**I might write other works in the fandom soon. I've got some ideas that seem like they'd be interesting to tackle with Touhou characters. We'll see in the future.**

**I hope you all enjoyed. See you in my next work!**


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